Enemies to lovers is my preferred trope, and Kelly Quindlen masterfully weaves it in this new title. Simply spellbinding.

I wish I could erase my memory and read it again. I read it all in one sitting because it was so hard to put it down. Irene has become my new role model.

As usual, Quindlen more than delivers with a snarky-but-sweet, trope-filed, teen rom-com--but! make it gay, of course. Authentic adolescence shines in the form of Scottie and her biggest-nemesis-turned-fake-girlfriend, Irene, but also in the side characters, like Danielle and Honey-Belle. The fictional small town backdrop is served up with Quindlen's usual atmospheric flare, giving readers a sense of being there, right in the middle of Grandma Earl. Even better, the tropes of this story are gently subverted or deepened in all the right ways to make them important and meaningful.

An easy read, but by no means any less profound, She Drives Me Crazy fills a gap in the young adult contemporary scene. Kelly Quindlen's craft improves with every book. Highly recommend this story to all, but especially sapphic readers looking for something to make them feel great. Can't wait for the next one either.

Oh, and huge shout out to cover artist, Steffi Walthall! Can't get over that beautiful cover.

This e-book was given to me by Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Synopsis: Our MC Scottie is a high school basketball player who is recovering from heartbreak, after the breakup with her first girlfriend. Scottie is still sorting out her feelings, and unsure how she feels, but one thing is for sure - sorting out her feelings is darn near impossible with her ex only one school away, on an opposing basketball team no less. Scottie leaves a game distraught after running into her ex, and ends up in a minor car accident in the school's parking lot, with none other than the school's must popular (and beautiful) head cheerleader. Oh, and did I mention she is also her nemesis? Scottie's mom "volunteers" Scottie to drive her until the car is fixed... and drama ensues.

*I'll leave it there for the spoilers, if you want spoilers read below*

My feels: Wow, wow and wow. This is the type of book I wish I had access to and had read in high school, it was so refreshing to read a fun and relatable book about two female characters in a relationship. I have read WLW books in the past, but none in a high school setting. I felt that the story was so relatable to anyone going through a heartbreak, especially a teenager, and just a fun read all around. I would LOVE for this book to become a movie one day! It also includes one of my favorite tropes - fake dating!

This was a cute story. Bisexual enemies to lovers. I was here for it. There was self discovery. I loved the fact that the enemies to lovers were actually enemies to lovers. From the beginning scene I knew that this was a book I'd enjoy simply because the writing style was super easy to read.

This book was incredible omg. I absolutely loved it and found myself grinning and laughing at the scenes. It's romantic and sweet and goes through the healing process after a toxic relationship. It's full of ups and downs, but it's one of the best contemporary romance books I've read. My only critique is on a minor detail that didn't make sense of the college admissions process (Danielle didn't write a Common App essay until the spring, when she was accepted early for college). But other than that small detail, the book was perfect and such an enjoyable read!

This is a sweet, fun, geeky love story with the excellent tropes of fake dating and enemies-to=lovers. Highly recommended to anyone who's a fan of sapphic rom-coms.

This story was cute. Scottie is a basketball player; her ex-girlfriend plays for the rival team. Her life is generally a little sucky - she's still in love with her ex and she's sort of unpopular even though she's a student athlete (she doesn't play the ~right~ sports). She has her friends and family, but she's in a bit of a rut. Until she runs into Irene... literally. They get into a fender bender and are forced to spend some time together because of it. Irene is popular - a cheerleader, super smart, etc., and she also was behind a bullying incident Scottie experienced the year before. Scottie actively dislikes Irene and Irene seems to be generally annoyed by Scottie. But they end up in a mutually beneficial fake dating situation and start to genuinely like each other, of course.

Irene being annoyed with Scottie was not only valid, but honestly a little of an underreaction. Scottie was actually such an asshole. There were multiple times that she purposefully said things knowing they'd hurt Irene. Her reason to pay Irene A THOUSAND DOLLARS to fake date her was absolutely absurd and kinda mean - she wanted to make her ex-girlfriend jealous and gain some popularity in the process. Irene didn't want to go to a party at her ex best friend's house, and Scottie sort of force-talked her into it, and then Irene was publicly embarrassed by her ex best friend at the party. Of course, Scottie had character development upon meeting new people and doing new things, but she honestly didn't deserve the chances that Irene or her friends gave her.

I liked the parts about Irene cheering, and how cheerleading is a completely valid sport. A lot of this conversation comes by way of Scottie's internalized misogyny, which can be a little frustrating. Irene fights hard to be viewed as a "real" athlete throughout the course of the novel.

I liked the idea of Scottie not being over her ex. I mean, she was still actively in love with her ex while falling for Irene. I don't think that's something that's very common in books even though it's quite common in real life. Scottie also has difficulty moving on because her loved ones really disliked her ex, so they talk badly about her often, which damages Scottie's healing process. I think that's a really interesting and unique angle, because I've never thought about that. I've always been the person who immediately wants to shit talk anyone who's broken my heart lol. But not having the option to do what is best for your grieving process is upsetting, and I am glad to have had that reminder.

However, I didn't feel what Scottie was feeling because I didn't care about her past relationship with her ex, Tally. They're already broken up when the story starts, and there is little to no flashbacks to really give you an idea of what there was about Tally that had Scottie in so deep. Sometimes you just need a little tell and not show; just saying "I loved her so much" was not enough to make me believe it on a spiritual level.

I'm unsure of the realisticness of having two gen Z lesbians at the same school who are both really into 80s movies and pop culture. I don't wanna count nobody out now... but this is the second book in a ROW (One Last Stop) that had important references to Say Anything... and yeah, the scene is iconic... but, possible unpopular opinion, the movie sucks? Let's at least latch onto The Breakfast Club if we have to stay in the 80s but if we're being retro let's just have a Clueless or Legally Blonde obsessed kid instead

Speaking of references... PLEASE...... the Harry Potter references..... I'm tired and weary at this point. The audacity to reference it in an LGBTQIA+ book tho?? Even worse, honestly. I know that it's low-hanging fruit, it's a reference that is almost universally understood, BUT OTHER THINGS EXIST especially things with creators that aren't scumbags

I'm spotty on the representation here. I know Scottie was white and Irene was Desi. I want to say specifically Indian, but I don't remember. The only reason I know is because her family's nationality was stated - there's little to nothing about Irene's culture on page. I don't think that's a huge deal, but just something to be aware of regarding the representation in this story. Both Scottie and Irene's friends are all straight, or at least are in heterosexual relationships. Except Irene's ex best friend, who was only into girls when she was drunk, and sort of used Irene then bullied her about it after. Which... oof. Anyway, I'm not sure if any of the friends in the friend group were anything other than white - if they were, I don't remember.

Speaking of bullying... my girl Scottie was HYPER focused on the fact that Irene had her car towed once. That's the big bullying incident that keeps worming its way to the surface of Scottie's thoughts. It just seemed like so not a big deal in the grand scheme of things. She had literally never asked Irene why she did it or really talked to Irene about it at all. It just kept annoyingly coming up until they finally discussed it and it was really such a simple explanation lol idk

For the most part, I loved Scottie's family. Her parents kept her responsible for things she did, her sisters were very supportive and spent quality time with her, and they all seemed to communicate very well, plus they all supported Scottie being gay wholeheartedly. There was one part that I found really strange, though. When Scottie came clean to her parents about the fake dating situation, they forced her to come clean to her sisters as well, because "there are no secrets in this family." It's just such a strange dynamic to imagine - confiding in your parents because you trust them and being made to share your embarrassing secrets with your siblings before you're ready. Scottie didn't seem too bothered by it, and I'm sure it was meant to be harmless, but it felt very icky, honestly.

There were some funny moments, some sweet moments, and some heartwarming moments. It's definitely not as bad as the review sounds to this point. I'm only being hard on it because I saw its potential. For the most part, it uplifted female athletes (no thanks to little Miss Scottie Misoggy.) Irene gave Scottie space to heal from her breakup, which was really important. Bullies were called out, friendships were made, fun times were had by all. Tally's drinking problem went oddly unaddressed, as did the weird ass instagram accounts that paparazzi-style leaked all the drama between Scottie and the gang. I just really think this story could have benefitted from an extra 50 pages.

Despite all my qualms, I think teens will like this. Nothing like some scheming, young, sporty lesbians to win over the kids. I'll have no problems recommending it, especially as "Most Athletic" in the superlative display we currently have up.

A fun and campy high school rivals-to-lovers fake dating romance that remembers the humanity of its characters and the stakes and pain of their struggles without getting dark.

This sapphic fake dating novel was a good mix of sweet and difficult. Both characters are dealing with heartache and moving on from past harmful experiences, learning to be more authentically themselves in life and in love. I thought it was well done and was a quick read and I really enjoyed it.

After her girlfriend broke up with her, Scottie Zajac has figured things couldn't get much worse. Until she loses to her ex-girlfriend's rival basketball team AND gets into a car crash with her nemesis, Irene Abraham, all on the same night. Scottie and Irene are forced to carpool together, and concoct a fake-dating scheme that slowly starts to spiral.

This book has all of my favorite tropes — fake dating, enemies to lovers, and sapphic romance. I loved how well Kelly Quindlen developed Scottie and Irene's friendship into romance — I feel like I really got to know the characters, their motivations, and their history with one another. I also loved how the book gave many opportunities for the main characters to develop, while also incorporating well-rounded side-characters — Scottie and Irene's family and friends breathe such life into the story and are also given a chance to shine. I would recommend this to anyone looking for a light and fluffy read!

She Drives Me Crazy was super cute & I enjoyed it a lot. A stand out part of the book to me was how Kelly Quindlen approached the discussion of getting through breakups in a healthy way - this isn't always the case in books like these ESPECIALLY when they're set in a high school timeframe.

Fake dating is one of my favorite book tropes which is what initially drew me to this story, the way Quindlen developed Scottie & Irene's friendship before developing anything romantic was incredible in my opinion. Scottie having to get over herself and accepting that Irene is in fact a real person with real feelings was such an important part of the story in my opinion. I think that's something many of us have had to come to terms with when we were that age.

The discussions of being closeted and having someone essentially blackmail you into silence was so important as well. Too often we see stories that revolve around someone being outed without their permission and I think it's an important discussion to have.

Overall I enjoyed this book, there were times I was completely frustrated with Scottie and times where I was rooting so hard for Kevin and Danielle. I felt connected to all of the characters throughout the book.

She Drives Me Crazy was a fun teen, enemies-to-lovers romance. It was a quick read but it just didn't work for me as much as I would have liked. There wasn't anything wrong with it and I think a lot of teens will really enjoy it, it just didn't do much for me personally.

I read this book in a single day because I simply couldn't put it down. It was absolutely adorable and I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a cute, fast paced, queer YA romance. In addition to that, this book went deeper into the characters than one might expect. It tackled important topics such as fear of coming out, heartbreak, toxic relationships, and bullying. It also included positive yet realistic family relationships, which many YA books tend to leave out. This is definitely a book I would recommend to teenagers, and also one I would encourage my students to read and discuss in the classroom.

Romance isn't my usual genre, but this was wonderful fake-dating fluffy sapphic happiness. Since I'm late with this ARC review, I'm happy to say that my library has already purchased a copy. Thank you very much to NetGalley and Roaring Brook Press for the ARC!
Up from 3.5 stars.

This book IS SUCH A CUTE STORY! If you're looking for a read that you want to get done with fast with a satisfying ending, this is perfect for you. With the enemies to lovers trope, two rivals must fake date in order to help them both at their own goals... and learn much more about themselves than they ever intended to. Mistakes are made, relationships are ruined, lessons are learned, and that ending just made my heart swell up with hope and love for these two characters. It's absolutely cheesy at parts of it and that's part of the charm that this book brings to the table.
Highly recommended!

It was wonderful--I really liked it. There's a genuine set up--enemies forced to ride together to school by their moms after a car accident--that continues into an arrangement where they agree to "date" each other. The arrangement is Scottie gives Irene the money to pay her mom back for the deductible on repairs to Scottie's car; and Irene would be Scottie's girlfriend in order to make Scottie's ex, Tally, jealous. I don't think it was laugh-out-loud funny like the book blurb suggested, but it had its moments. How Charlotte got away with all the gay-shaming she did I don't know, other than maybe her peers knew exactly what she was truly capable of (like a scene towards the end of the book).

It is a pet peeve of mine where YA books have Gen Z kids who nevertheless love 80s and 90s music (the title of the book is from the 1989 Fine Young Cannibals song of the same name) and films, to the exclusion of current pop culture. I suppose when Gen Alpha become teenagers in the next 5-10 years, they'll love music and films that came out in the Aughts. Still, this book will be on my recommendation list to LGBTQ teens.

Absolutely adorable disdain to love, fake dating, sapphic romance! Scottie and Irene are such great characters and their growth throughout the story was excellent. I liked that everything wasn't super easy for them and that there were challenges, like Scottie needing to get over her ex. I also enjoyed how Irene's coming out was handled and that there wasn't any pressure and it was her decision. This is the exact YA contemporary that I love.

What a wonderful fun campy book about a high school basketball player. Described as a "gay Ginny Weasley" Scottie is struggling to get over her ex, so she engages in a fake dating scheme with her nemesis. It's a light-hearted tale that also addresses being gay in high school and how to get over break-ups. I really enjoyed reading it and would recommend.

Thank you so much @pridebooktours for letting me be a part of this tour and for the physical copy!

I enjoyed this so much. It was so cute! This was a sapphic fake dating and enemies to lovers YA rom-com and I am here 👏 for 👏 it 👏.

It was everything I needed. The banter was *chefs kiss*. I definitely think this a book that everyone should read! AND it's got sports?! What more could you possibly ask for??

This did enemies to lovers RIGHT. And I am so happy about it!

𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲: Enemies to Lovers, Sapphic, Banter, Fake Dating.